The Memo
by Mickee A. Renn
Summary: Under the tutorage of JUCHKO. Takes place after Volume 6.  Summary: An aquaintance of Sylth's attempts to blindly carry out his will and eventually comes to understand the mystery behind his disappearance.  Please Review.
1. Sylth's Will

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

_"Okay, item number one, I really, really want my diary back," Sylthfarn's voice echoed in my head, as visions of us sitting across from one another at a table, in a darkening hotel room, at sunset played along. I remember having been incredibly nervous being in the presence of the great Master Wizard, but there was no way I was admitting that, being my stubborn self and all. _

_That's why I replied, "A diary…seriously? What'd you write in there? Some girl's name all decorated with hearts?" _

_"Nothing more fabulous than that," he replied. "Still, it'd be a really big pain in my ass should a certain Hahze friend of mine—or any other of my friends for that matter— were to ever read it." _

Pain in my ass, _I had found myself thinking. _I guess he's not what you'd call prim and proper, swearing in front of a lady and perfect stranger like that.

_"And I take it that's all you're going to say about that?" I wondered. He grinned impishly and gave a small nod. "Okay, so how do I even go about getting your diary back?" _

_"The palace is always looking for more maids," he commented. "Just get a job as one there and then I'll be sure to tell you all about the secret room." _

_"The secret room…right," I murmured. "Look, I know you don't realize this, seeing how we just met and all, but I happen to be engaged to one of the most well-to-do men from Caldia. I'm not about to become a maid." _

_Sylthfarn laughed out loud at the comment, and then through breaths, explained, "Of course I know _that_, Miss Dahlia. You didn't think I just plucked you out of some random crowd, did you?" _

_I couldn't have possibly expected much else, considering how we met—just the two of us, alone in some hotel pub in the middle of nowhere and who had just happened to strike up casual conversation. _

Then again, _I considered, _he _is _the Master Wizard.

_"Besides," he continued, "I never said I wanted you to do it tomorrow. In fact, I would prefer that you wait a while." _

_"I…don't understand," I said. "First you say it's incredibly urgent that you get your diary back and now you're telling me to wait it out? What if someone reads it?" _

_"Oh, I'm sure they will, assuming they can get past the spells I put on it," he commented. _

_"Now I'm really lost," I stated. _

_"Trust me, you'll get it…someday," he chuckled. I just rolled my eyes and asked myself just what the hell I was getting myself into. "Okay, so item number two, I want you to deliver these letters." _

_"Letters?" I murmured, as he handed me a stack of six unsealed envelopes. The top one was addressed to a Mel, the second a Seraphia, the third Fern, Yue, Glenn, and then Vaith. "I don't know who any of these people are." _

_"Oh you will," he replied gleefully. "And finally, item number three—are you any good with costume make-up?" _

_"C-costume makeup…?"_

…

* * *

"Well, Sylth…I don't suppose six years is long enough for you, is it?" I murmured to myself as I sat on the steps outside the courthouse. It was all I could do to keep myself from crying and so I found myself staring down at a crinkled old memo that simply read "Diary/Letters". I hadn't looked at the thing even once in all this time, but I'd always kept it close at hand in my purse (the letters still sat safely in my jewelry box as well). It'd had come to mind as I was now ripped apart from my old life and apparently free as a bird.

_"Now, Mrs. Young, while I realize you have been the primary caregiver of your children, I cannot ignore the fact that you signed a prenuptial agreement, are jobless, and therefore have absolutely no money to your name. And until you start making a decent income for yourself, I'm afraid I have to grant sole custody to your husband. This court is adjourned," _I just couldn't get the sound of the judge's voice or the pounding of that gavel out of my mind.

"That job at the palace is starting to sound better and better," I choked. "I wonder…did you know this was going to happen? Did you know my husband was a rat? Or…did you just bear ill will towards me?"

Of course I didn't seriously believe that last bit, but I thought making a little joke about the situation would help lighten my mood. Unfortunately, all talking was doing in general was bringing on the tears.

_Well, whatever the case, I need a job. How do I even go about getting one at the palace, though? It's…it's hopeless…, _I allowed myself to think.

"Come on, cut this shit out," I told myself. "They've been living with Tina and Phil for a whole month now. Get over it…they're gone. There's only one thing left in this world for me and that's Sylth's will."

I didn't know how I was going to make things work, but I did know that should I not pursue this "mission" that I would be nothing but miserable for the rest of my life. I knew, meanwhile, though that I couldn't just wait around for things to happen. I at least had to get a temporary job—somewhere, anywhere—and fast if I expected to be able to eat that week. So, even though I didn't even want to get out of my bed, I was up bright and early the next morning looking for just that.

* * *

"The dog ra-runs th-th-row-row—

"…through…"

"Through the pa-ark," I happened to overhear a little boy reading a little picture book and the voice of a sweet young man helping him along the way. I had been standing at a fruit stand on the next block over, begging the owner to give me work, while he continued to just push me away and mutter about how he had no work for me. I, could, however, easily hear the voices of the man, the boy, and several other children carrying through the alley connecting the two streets. Having decided I was little more curious about this than I was with continuing to harass the poor man, I stepped into the alley and stood in the shadows as I continued to listen, thinking of my own daughter, who about the boy's age, all the while.

They children were gathered around a small table, with the young man sitting in a chair beside them with his back to me. I had to stifle a giggle, as I thought it was rather silly for a grown man to have a ribbon in his hair.

He slid the book from in front of the little boy over to a little girl just then, who gracefully read the next sentence, "He jumped into the pond."

I could just tell the man was beaming as he slid the book over to another child and exclaimed, "You're all doing so well."

I also couldn't help but notice how familiar his voice sounded. I couldn't place it, though, and it was driving me insane.

"He scared the fish," another girl read the next part. I was hoping he'd give her some personal words of praise, but unfortunately he didn't say anything further except for the occasional helping word althroughout the rest of the book. In the end it only took them roughly fifteen minutes to finish it, but it felt like an eternity as I waited to hear the teacher's voice again.

I did eventually get my wish, but it was unfortunately in the way I wanted the least. Just as he leaned over in his chair to get another book from his bag, a little boy pointed to me and asked, "Who's that lady? She's been standing there a long time!"

I started to retreat, but he turned faster than I could disappear. And when our eyes finally did meet, I was not only flabbergasted, but undoubtedly beat red as well. Thankfully, the lack of light in the alley not only concealed this, but all my facial features in general.

Glenn approached me warily and asked me if there was something he could help me with.

"Nah-no, I'm cool…really," I insisted, and once again tried to make my escape.

He proved to be far quicker than I once again, though, as he hesitantly whispered, "Lila?"

Knowing there would be no turning back now, I sheepishly stepped out of the alley to present myself and confirm his hunch. He murmured, "So…it is you."

"Mr. Glenn! Is this a friend of yours, Mr. Glenn?" The children suddenly all exclaimed and started gathering around me. I have to say, I was as excited to be around them as they were to be around me.

"Hi there," I grinned, "What are you names?"

"Bobby, James, Lisa, Susie…" I heard a jumble of names come out all at once and then in unison they all asked me, "What's your name? Are you a friend of Mr. Glenn's?"

"I'm Dahlia," I replied. "And, yes, I suppose you could say I'm a friend of Mr. Glenn's." I looked at Glenn as I was saying this. He smiled and nodded.

The children continued to ask me more and more questions, more questions than I could answer or keep up, so Glenn stepped in to shoo them away. "Alright, everyone," he spoke, "considering you've all done so well today, I'm going to let you play for the remainder of our time together."

The children all cheered and then settled down on the ground in little circles with their closets friends. Meanwhile, Glenn approached me and asked, "So, how are you doing, Lila?"

"I've been better," I admitted with a nervous laugh. "Ah…but that's life, I guess."

"Oh, really?" he asked sadly. "What's going on?"

I just shook my head and said, "You really don't want to hear about my problems."

"I'm a priest," he stated. "There's nothing I haven't heard, believe me."

_Don't tell me that the same guy that broke up with me to enter the priesthood is now going to be my savior? Oh, the irony…, _I thought.

"I'm…I'm going through a divorce right now," I took a deep breath in attempt to keep myself from crying. "And yesterday morning I lost custody of my kids."

"I'm so sorry," he replied. He paused for a moment and then said, "Ah…so that's why you were watching us."

I just nodded.

"Well," he continued, "You know you'd be welcome to join us whenever you have time. It'd be kind of nice to have another adult with me anyways, considering I tend to get a large number of children to work with every now and then. You…are a teacher, right? That's what you were going to school for?"

"Actually, I had to quit school because, I, uh…I had to get married," I felt my cheeks flushing a little bit again. "And you know how well that turned out. In the end I lost not only my husband, but the baby as well."

"I'm sorry," he said again. It seemed that was all he could say.

"So…here you are asking me to help with your tutoring and you don't even know why I lost custody of my kids," I stated a bit teasingly.

"I'm sure you're a great mother," he shrugged. "I can't imagine you've done anything to hurt them."

"It's nice to know someone thinks I can take care of my own kids," I sighed. "How can I blame them, though? I'd never feel comfortable having them around considering I'm dead broke and don't have job."

"Ah…you know, we're always looking for more maids at the palace," I suddenly heard a very familiar tune. "I could probably get you a job there."

As shocked as I was to hear this, I was even more shocked to just hear he was associated with the palace. _Glenn… "Glenn"…no way, it can't be. This can't be that Glenn…Sylth's friend. _

"Ha-how would you be able to that?" I questioned.

He just laughed, patted my shoulder, and said, "I work at the palace, silly."

* * *

_Sylth and I were standing on an abandoned porch in a nearby ghost town. We were seeking shelter from the pouring rain._

_"I want thank you for all your help," he said. _

_"Sa-sure," I replied. _

_He stayed silent for a moment and then shrugged and murmured, "Well, I guess it's starting to let up. I should try to get going." _

_He started down the steps, but I immediately cried, "Wait!" _

_He turned back around and asked, "Yes?"_

_"I still don't get what you want me to do with your diary or these letters!" I exclaimed._

_"I told you…get the diary and deliver the letters. Just wait until the right time," he stated._

_"The right time for the letters too…when will that even be?" I wondered._

_"Well, I don't want you just randomly handing them off as you meet them all," he explained. "But trust me, you'll know what do!" _

_I started to say more, but he silenced me with a wave of his hand. Then, after giving me a little wink, he took a deep breath and took off into the storm. That was the last time I ever saw him. The next morning, a newspaper announced how he was tragically rolled over by a carriage just out the blue._

_Of course, I do know more than a little something about that…_


	2. Hazy

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

Night one at the palace and I wasn't sure what was more pathetic—the inn room I'd had at the edge of town or the scrappy room I was in now. I suppose it really wasn't the size, the yellowing walls, or even the musty smell the really bothered me. No, it was more so the sea of dust that covered the room and the agonizing thought of needing to clean up before I could even consider turning in. I was growing weary just thinking about it and so, sighing, I settled into the bare mattress for a spell and made an attempt to build myself up to the task.

My mind wandered back to yesterday afternoon, when Glenn had finally shown up six days after our reunion, to tell me that everything was settled and that I could move in anytime. I couldn't help but think how different the atmosphere had been, how it felt like we'd never spent a day apart originally, but this time it was as though we were complete strangers dealing with nothing but strictly business. I didn't know if it was me or him or what, but we hardly even exchanged a friendly smile that afternoon. In fact, all we did exchange was the thank-you-it-was-no-trouble protocol and so I was more than flabbergasted to learn that he arranging a job for me was nothing of that sort of protocol

Not ten minutes into my woolgather, my eyes started flickering beyond my control, and just as the thought slipped through my skull that I would wipe the place down first thing in the morning, a large, burly woman suddenly burst in unannounced, a cigarette in her teeth, and grunted, "So you're the one they just had to give a job too, huh?"

I immediately shot up out of bed and demanded, after regaining my breath and composure, "Excuse me?"

"You're the new maid, right? Well, duh, of course you are!" The woman laughed at her own question. "I tell you, you should have heard the Undersecretary and the Father going at it—about how we need another maid like we need a hole in the head and how he didn't know what he was talking about because he works in the magic department."

I wasn't exactly following what the woman was saying, but her point was clear as day: I should never have been hired. I replied, "I don't understand. I thought there were plenty maid positions available here."

"Yeah…maybe there were five, six years ago, but word gets out about this kind of job and everyone and their dog wants a spot for themselves," she grumbled.

"I see… that actually makes a lot of sense." I admitted.

"Well, so long as you know," she muttered, "but in any case, that's not what I really came to jar at you about."

"Oh?" I murmured. "What is it, then?"

"I just wanted to let you know you're on bathroom duty—toilets, tubs, and uh, anything else no one else wants to touch," she explained.

I frowned. It really doesn't suit one much to go from commanding the bathroom be cleaned to being the one receiving the order. Of course, I was in no position to argue, so I nevertheless said," Yes, ma'am."

"Good then," she grinned satisfactorily and then added, "You'll find all the supplies you need in the bathroom closets…obviously."

"Uh, so where would I find a broom and a feather duster?" I wondered, reluctantly recalling yet another feat that I had ahead of me.

The woman slumped over at my question, sighed irritably, and answered, "In the closet right here," she stepped back and started to point, "catty-corner to your room."

We stayed silent for a moment and then she huffed, "Is there anything else?"

I just shook my head.

"Fine," she grumbled, "I guess have a good night then."

_Yeah right, _I thought as I gave the room another once over and before I could even think to reply, the woman disappeared down the hallway.

"Well, I'm up," I shrugged and then proceeded to retrieve the supplies I needed. In the end it took me roughly—and to my complete surprise considering the hole-in-the-wall essence of the room—two hours to rid the floor and shelves of every speck of dust. I breathed a sigh of relief, though, as I realized the only place left to sweep was behind the nightstand. Little did I know, though, there was something other than just dust bunnies waiting for me on the other side and that something was an envelope with the name _Miss Dahlia _scribbled across it. I snatched it up and ripped it open like someone awaiting contest results, despite the fact that it was unsealed. It read:

_Aside from the location of the secret room, I thought you might need a couple of survival tips. First of all, don't let the other maids bully you into the shitty jobs. What you're actually going to want to do is let Yue (the grumpy guy with glasses, and long dark hair) catch you standing around he'll surely put you to work organizing papers or something. He'll probably be a total dick about the way you do it, but hey, it's better than sticking your hands in the crapper, right? Anyways, I drew you a diagram of how to find the secret room on the back of this and there's also instructions for opening it. Just don't let anyone see, cause it is a secret after all._

It wasn't signed, but it didn't take a genius to tell who it was from. "Sylthfarn," I murmured, "how did you know I'd be staying in this room?"

* * *

Morning came around far too quickly as I was awakened by the crazy raucous of the forty or so other maids getting up and starting their days alongside the sun. I was still too woozy and exhausted to think of anything else but rolling over and going back to sleep, but it became clear in the few precious moments I closed my eyes again that they were not staying shut. And so, finally succumbing to the presence of a new day, I stumbled out of bed and into my shower. I was ready only fifteen minutes later, but it seemed it was fifteen minutes too many because when I stepped out my room to inquire an elder maid about Yue, she herself decided she had many questions for me regarding my tardiness. And so after about thirty seconds of being hissed at and spat on, I realized probably none of these women were going to be too quick to listen to me. I was forced to commence with wandering the corridors in hopes of finding Yue with nothing but blind luck. I did inevitably wind up getting completely lost, but as fate had it, my knight in shining armor came running to my aid. I never would have guessed it at first glance though, or rather first smell, as he smelled very strongly of alcohol.

"Excuse me," the man with dark hair I'd encountered in the hallway spoke, "are you lost or something?"

"Oh, I…I was just looking for, um, You," I took my best stab at pronouncing Yue's name.

"Me?" he murmured. "Why were you looking for me?"

_This is Yue? _I thought. _Gee, he doesn't seem like a dick at all to me…nor does he look anything like Sylthfarn described him. _

"Ah, well," I laughed nervously. "I was just going to ask if there was anything I could, um…clean for you?"

He looked completely baffled, but still replied as politely as he possibly could, "Well, no, I don't need you to right now, but uh, I'll be sure to let you know. What's your name?"

"Dahlia…Dahlia Young," I stated.

"Right, cool, I'm Vaith, but you already knew that, right?" he said.

"Vaith?" I questioned. "I thought you said you were You."

"Ah, yes, I am me…uh, Vaith." He said. "Wait…so, uh, just who exactly is you're looking for?"

"Um, You, you know, Y-u-e," I thought that perhaps spelling his name would prove more useful.

"That…that's pronounced Yue," He corrected me. "And you wanted to…to clean something for him?"

He got a look across his face that just screamed, "What the hell does that mean?"

I just nodded, and hoped to God that he wasn't thinking what I thought he was thinking, and therefore I was confirming his hunch with my nod.

"He's, uh, actually probably in his office," he stated and then proceeded to give me directions. After we went through them a couple of times and made it perfectly clear just where this office was, I took the opportunity to fly out of there like a bird in a hunter's aim.

* * *

"Lecto, would you hand me that pile of papers from that shelf," I heard a strong voice coming from the office I had been informed was Yue's. The door was open and I poked my head in just in time to hear the voice add, "I want to look them over one last time before I have to officially file them."

I saw a blonde fellow standing at a counter looking over the several piles sitting on it, when he realized, "Oh, of course, you mean Mel's paperwork." I watched as he walked over to the desk and set them in front of the person that was obviously Yue. It seemed Sylthfarn had described him to T after all. A girl with long, silver hair sat opposite of him.

The blonde kid happened to look up in my direction just then and asked, "Excuse me, is there something we can help you with?"

This naturally caused Yue and the girl to look up at me as well. I nearly fell over when I saw her face. Sure, I'd seen her picture in the paper plenty of times and had heard all about the Silver Haired Saint, but seeing her just then—it was almost more than I could handle. She really did look exactly like Sylthfarn.

After several minutes of me staring at her without even blinking, the Saint finally asked, "Was it me you were looking for you?"

"Forgive me," I choked. "I'm just shocked to be seeing the Master Wizard in person. It's an honor, Ms. Merleawe."

I gave her a slight curtsey, to which I thought, _Dahlia, you are making a complete fool of yourself. _

"You are a maid and clearly a new one at that!" Lecto suddenly snapped. "I highly suggest you get over your hero worship and get back to work. The last thing we need is a bunch of stalkers following us around."

"Need I remind you yourself were once a stalker," Merleawe laughed out loud at him, then turned back to me and sweetly said, "It's very nice to meet you, but it's as Lecto says: you should really get back to work."

"My…apologies," I murmured and started to turn around, having completely forgotten why I'd even came there.

Someone proved that he always had his head on straight as rumor had, it, though, because Yue called to me just then, "Wait just a moment. You are the new maid? Is it as Lecto says?"

"Uh, yes, that's me," I replied.

"Then you need to thank your friend Glenn, because he harassed me and harassed me until I promised to let you work in my office," he stated. "He was also nice enough to promise on your behalf that you'd keep it spotless for me as a bargaining chip. I hope you're up to the task."

He reached into his desk and tossed a key across the room to me. He explained, "That's my only spare, so don't lose it. I expect it to be cleaned every morning before I come in around six. And I expect it to be clean when I return from lunch at two."

"Uh, yes, sir," I replied and thought, _Just how messy _are _you? _

"I should be leaving for lunch in a couple of hours," he continued. "In the meantime, you should be keeping yourself busy moping the hallways or something."

"Yes, sir," I said again.

"You're excused," he finished and then returned his attention to Merleawe. I just blinked hard as I stepped back into the hallway, thinking all the while that that had been too easy.

The rest of the day went pretty well as one might expect, with nothing but sweeping, dusting, and moping to keep me company.

* * *

Night two at the palace came around in a flash. As I looked back on all the events of the past twenty-four hours, it was as though they hadn't even happened. It was like I had just stayed in bed all day and dreamt it all. I supposed I just wasn't used to my new life yet. Whether I really believed it all happened or not, though, it was still repeating itself all over again. While I wanted nothing more than to crash after yet another long, hard day, I was still faced with one more task late into the night. I was able to get about two hours of sleep as lights out were at tweleve and this was suprisingly sufficient as I was too anxious about finding the diary to sleep anyways.

The hallways were completely pitch dark aside from the light of the moon pouring weakly in through the large window. This made deciphering the map nearly impossible and I got lost I don't know how many times before I finally found the right place. All the while I continued to feel like I was living in a dream and it felt especially surreal in the moments that I opened the door and made my way into Sylthfarn's secret place.

I could tell it was regularly cleaned and kept well as all the books were neatly organized on the shelves and not a speck of dust lifted from the floor as I approached them. I spent about twenty minutes just going up and down and back and forth, reading all the spines that pertained to everything from magic to porn, but unfortunately I saw no sign of anything that resembled a diary. Finally, I began to pull books off the shelves to ensure he hadn't hidden it in the back somewhere, but I found nothing there either. In the end I even moved all the bookshelves about to look behind them and even checked to see if he had somehow attached it to bottom of the table, but I was finally forced to surrender after an hour and half of relentless searching, as it was clear to me the diary was nowhere in this room.

_"I…don't understand," I said. "First you say it's incredibly urgent that you get your diary back and now you're telling me to wait it out? What if someone reads it?" _

_"Oh, I'm sure they will, assuming they can get past the spells I put on it," he commented._

"Sylthfarn," I seethed, "if you knew someone was going to take it, then why in hell did you send me on this wild goose chase?"

There was no sense in getting angry, though, because I needed to spend my time and energy answering one very important question and that was: who took it?

I sat down at the table, and rested on it for a few minutes, as I tried to remember all Sylthfarn had told me that day. It took a few minutes, but I finally recalled that he was worried about a specific friend reading it, although I couldn't remember what he'd said about him exactly.

"Was it 'my…hazy friend?" I murmured to myself. "What could that mean, though?"

I decided then it was time to return to my room. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was going to get lost again, which caused the thought of meeting Vaith to enter my head.

_Drunken…hazy…hmm… _I thought.


	3. The Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

I knew I couldn't just up and ask Vaith about the diary, considering the sensitivity of the situation, but I was nonetheless not without a plan. It took a few weeks, as he didn't go out drinking all that often, but when he finally did go out again, I felt like a nervous young lioness ready to pounce. Despite this, though, I managed to stay sane and decided there was no way I was going out alone, so I contacted a girlfriend and had her meet me there. I arrived about five minutes before I expected Vaith to arrive so there'd be no way he'd suspect me of following him.

"Lilia!" Beth chirped when she caught sight of me, already working on her first margarita at the bar. While her back was to the front entrance, she was thankfully sitting on the corner and so I was able to sit in a spot where I could see the door. We hadn't seen each for a couple months and so it was only natural that she made the comment, "Where the hell have you been anyways? I was about ready to put out a missing person's report!"

"Phil," I muttered, as the bartender turned to me, called me honey, and asked me what my poison was going to be. I requested, "Just water please."

"Right…you finally got rid of the cheating dog," she murmured, most likely just citing whatever tidbit she'd heard through the grapevine because I really hadn't been talking to anybody about much of anything lately. "How's that going anyways?"

"Procedures went smooth enough, considering I didn't even have a fight to put up," I sighed. "It won't be long now."

She started to say something further, but I became distracted by the fact that Vaith had just stepped in. Noticing my tension, Beth jerked around to see just what had stolen my focus from her. She glanced back at me then, pulling me out of my trance of following Vaith to his table with my eyes. It only took a moment more for her to realize just who I was watching and not a moment longer to exclaim, "Oh, no, you can forget about that, Girl. That's the leader of the Black Knights. He is so out of your league."

I knew she only meant politically, but not daring to let on my true intentions, I grabbed a lock of my mommy-damaged hair and smirked, "I guess I really can't argue with that."

She punched my shoulder playfully and peeped that she knew I knew what she meant. I just laughed.

"If you're honestly looking to hook-up with someone tonight, though, Mr. Hottie that just walked in seems interested," she grinned.

"That is so not why I came here!" I shrieked. "Is it so hard to believe that I just wanted to have a few drinks with a friend tonight?"

"Yeah, considering the fact you haven't touched your water, let alone anything that could be categorized as a 'drink." Beth teased. I just shook my head and picked up my glass. The bar tender came over just then to check up on us since Beth's drink was getting a little low and I seized the opportunity while she was preoccupied to take another glance at Vaith. It seemed he was still waiting for his order.

As the bartender walked away, Beth made the comment that I shouldn't have ever married Phil in the first place considering I'd found out about his cheating before we were even married and screw the fact that I had been pregnant. She actually said this rather loud and it didn't help that next thing said was, "Well, maybe our Mr. Knight is interested after all."

"Can we talk about something else?" I hissed. "I'd rather not think about him right now, you know?"

"Sure, whatever," Beth grunted. "So, what _do _you want to talk about?"

"Well, I, uh…I got a job as maid at the palace." I stated.

"The palace? Really? Classy…how'd you do that?" She wondered.

An elderly waitress passed by us just then to bring Vaith his drink. Beth didn't notice me watching him that time, though, because she was too distracted by what I said next. "I ran into my old friend Glenn like a month ago and—

"Ah, Glenn…I remember _him._" She snickered playfully.

"Would you let me talk?" I questioned.

"Be my guest," She shrugged irritably and I continued to answer her question, meanwhile seeing Vaith finish about half his drink in practically one gulp and hearing him order another. The waitress replied cheerfully enough, but I still noticed a shocked a glint in her eyes. This same scenario replayed another four or five times over the course of the next forty-five minutes as I went through the account of all I'd been doing in the past thirty days. Beth was just taking the last sip of her drink as I finished my story, her manner making it painfully obviously that she was itching to run for the hills. I had to admit I wasn't exactly the most lively companion that night and that I actually wanted her out of there just as bad because the waitress was beginning to argue with Vaith about him not needing another. In the silence that pervaded over the next several minutes, I made an attempt to think of a good reason for excusing Beth, all the while wishing she would just excuse herself already. Getting to talk to Vaith instantly became the last thing on my mind, though, as the Mr. Hottie Beth had mentioned before, clearly drunk out his mind, came over and started hitting on us.

"Come on, just let me buy you babes another drink. I swear, I'm not going to try anything." The man pushed as he suddenly wrapped his arm around my neck and pinched right below my collar bone. I started panicking and Beth jumped up and started screaming and cursing at him. He just laughed and told her that if she knew what was good for her, she'd walk away.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the bartender finally took notice, but before he could do anything, another voice said, "Don't you know that's no way to ask out a lady?"

The four us—Beth, the bar tender, the man, and I—looked up to see Vaith wobbling next to Beth.

"Hey, I know you," The man grinned evilly. "You're that coward of a captain that let his men die to save his own ass."

Vaith grew tense at the comment and then choked, "Then you should know very well I have full authority to place you under arrest if you don't leave my friend alone."

"Hey, Pretty Boy, why don't you put the cuffs away and fight me like a real man?" The man taunted, took his arm off of me, and then proceeded to take a swing at Vaith. Vaith proved superior and skillful even in that state, though, as he dodged the man's fist and took him down with a single blow of his own.

The whole place was silent in the moments that followed, until the bartender finally asked, "You alright, Ha, er, Ma'am?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I responded, still shaking.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked. "It'll be on the house."

"No, not right now and that's…that's really not necessary," I said.

"I insist," he said firmly. "Just let me know when you're ready, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. After the bartender ordered a couple of his bouncers to take out the trash, he got back to work and the raucous of the place started up again.

Vaith was now standing between Beth and me, leaning against the bar, clearly ready to blow chunks. Even so, I still felt compelled to utter, "Thank you…Vaith."

"Hey, no problem," he breathed. "You know, you look familiar. You're, uh…you're Yue's girlfriend, right?"

"What? No! I'm his maid!" I cried.

"Okay, if that's what you want to call it. To each his own, I guess," he murmured. I was now nearly on the verge of asking the bartender to throw him out as well, but that was really the last thing I needed. And so the question circled back around just as to how was going to get rid of Beth.

"Hey, Li, I got to visit the ladies room. Are going you to be okay?" She suddenly spoke. I blinked, having not quite heard her, and then when it finally registered I assured here I'd be fine. She walked off then.

There wasn't a moment to lose, so I cut right to chase, lowered my voice, and said, "Say, Vaith, you wouldn't happen to know anything about what happened to Slythfarn's diary, would you?"

"Oh that?" He replied, as though I was merely inquiring about where the restroom was or something. "Yue's got that locked up in his room."

"Funny, I would have thought you'd be the one to have it," I riskily mentioned, hoping to bust whatever lie I suspected he was telling. "Sylthfarn did say, that his, uh, hazy friend would have it after all."

"Oh, no, I'm not the Hahze, that's Fern," he completely disregarded my slip up. "But he doesn't have it either… Yep, it's definitely with Yue."

_Great, _I thought. _How the hell am I supposed to get it now? _

"So, Dahlia," Beth's voice injected into the conversation. "I'm ready for my next round. You ready for your first?"

"Actually, if it's alright with you, I'd just rather get going," I sighed, exasperated.

"Sure, sure, that's cool," she nodded. "Well, just the same, I'm ready for another round, so I guess I'll see you later then."

I stood up and started to walk away. She called out to me before I had hardly taken two steps and said, "Yo, Lilia, I want to see you before another two months is up, kay?"

"Right," I nodded. "Bye, Beth."

"I'll walk with you," Vaith put in then. "Wouldn't want your friend bothering you again."

"Right, thanks," I nodded and then we started toward the door together after I said one more farewell to Beth.

* * *

"No, this is a complete outrage! I absolutely refuse!" I heard the screaming voice of a young woman emerge from the throne room, outside of which I was cleaning the morning after my little encounter with Vaith at the bar. I heard the king call out the princess's name and then she burst out the doors. She must not have noticed me, for when she determined the king wasn't following her, she threw herself against the wall and just began to bawl. The mother in me couldn't bear such a sight, and so stepping completely out of line, I touched her shoulder and asked, "Is everything alright, Princess?"

"No, it is not!" She wailed and started to cry even more. I was taken aback as she shameless threw herself into my arms and buried her head in my shoulder. Although muffled, I was pretty used to listening to teary stories, and so I understood her perfectly when she said, "Is it not enough that I've lost the love of my life? Must I really marry another?"

"You've…you've lost the love of your life at such a tender age?" I murmured.

"His name was Sylthfarn," she explained. "And he was the most amazing guy in the whole entire world."

"S-Sylthfarn," I whispered. Her letter crossed my mind just then.

_I don't want you just randomly handing them off to everyone as you meet them; _I recalled Sylthfarn's request. Still, I couldn't just stand idly by as a little girl cried over something I had the power to heal, and so, swallowing hard, I requested, "Princess, would you mind if I spoke to you in private?"

She pulled away from me, eyed my sternly, and snapped, "What could we possibly have to talk about?"

I looked around to see if anybody else was passing through. The coast was clear, so I quickly leaned into the Princess's ear, faster than she could respond, and stated, "I know something about Sylthfarn."

She jumped away from me and cried, "What did you just say?"

"It's true," I insisted. "Now, would you kindly come with me? It's better if we talk in private."

She stared at me warily for a moment and then choked out that if I even tried to do anything to hurt her, I'd be out of a job faster than I could blink. I told her that I understood and assured her my intentions were good. Then, after a few more moments of hesitation, she complied and asked where I thought we should go. I took her all the way back to my room, as the letters were still securely waiting in my jewelry box.

When we arrived, I swiftly closed the door behind us, grabbed the chair from underneath my desk and told the Princess that she just might want to sight down. She slid down into it with a wondering look in eye, still clearly baffled by what was going on.

She suddenly burst then, "So tell me, please! What is it you know about my Sylth?"

I stared nervously down at the crumbling surface of the desk, trying to decided whether I should just come out with it or not. I just couldn't decide what to start with. The Princess was naturally growing more and more impatient, though, so I finally gave up my debate and said, "Your Majesty, The Master Wizard is not dead."

He jaw dropped then and she queried, "Why would you say something like that?"

"It's…the truth, I assure you." I choked.

"Well, duh it's truth!" She declared.

"You already know?" I cried.

"Well, yeah..." she murmured.

"When did you find out?" I questioned. "How did you find out?"

"Find out...what?" She asked.

"That's the Master Wizard is alive!" I stated.

"What? Huh?" The Princess closed in her eyes and shook her head confusedly. "What do you mean how did I found out? What's there to find out? I mean, I'm with Mel like practically all the time."

"Ah, perhaps I should have been clearer. My apologies," I laughed out loud at the conversation that had occurred as a result in my lapse of proper phrasing. "What I meant to say is, the one who isn't dead, in fact I'm sure is very much alive, is—

"No way!" She finally got the picture. "You're not saying…"

"I am," I confirmed. "Princess Seraphia, it gives me great honor in telling you that Master Sylthfarn is alive and well."


	4. I Must Hurry

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

_I really don't think this is going to work_, I thought as I fumbled with putting red costume makeup all over the little doll that lay on the edge of my bed—which I knelt in front of—the morning of Sylth's accident. Thirty seconds on the timer was already up and all I'd managed to do was make a greasy red mark across her forehead.

Oh, and when I say I think you have a whole thirty seconds to get it right, I'm being incredibly generous,_ I recalled Sylthfarn's words with great frustration as I rubbed the hell out the doll's forehead with a wet towel. When I lifted it away, a faint red stain remained in her delicate fibers. I picked her up and squeezed her tightly in my arms, feeling great guilt for ruining the one thing that had gotten me through the nightmare of my life. This daughter of the village butcher and a conservative house wife had finally gotten what she deserved for running around with some rich pretty- boy for nearly ten years. After a few minutes of just holding her and fighting back the tears, I kissed her forehead and proceed to reset the clock._

Today, those seven years later, blotches of faded red paint laid scattered all about her teeny arms, legs, head, and dress now. And all I could think, as I stared in her blue eyes for the first time in years was how I had at least had my baby then and that was clearly why this moment was far more difficult than that.

I laid her down on the nightstand with the knowledge that only thirty minutes more remained before I was to meet Princess Seraphia.

I had been observing Yue's routine long enough to know that he was still working even though it was nearly ten o'clock at night. I had already taken the time to learn the quickest route from my room to his so that I could make getting the diary as quick and painless as possible. It still took me almost fifteen minutes to get there, though, as the workers and servants quarters were in two separate wings. The door was naturally locked, but I had stolen the key from him earlier that day when I had been mopping the hallway outside his office and I had heard footsteps coming from around the corner. It'd been obvious to me that it was him, so I impulsively dumped my bucket of water right onto the floor. As soon as he went down, I awkwardly threw myself on him and muttered an apology while I fished through the dazed Yue's pants pockets. Luckily I was able to snatch them up before he could throw me off of himself and bark at me to just get back to work already.

I opened Yue's bedroom door cautiously, for fear that he might actually be in there after all. Thankfully, though, nothing but the shadows of the moving door shifted in the darkness. I closed the door behind me so no one would see me sneaking around where I wasn't supposed to be and then I flipped on the flashlight I had brought so I wouldn't be given away by the emitting of the real light.

The place was adorned in all sorts of strange charms and gave off a rather occult aura. I might have even thought I'd stepped into some sort of magic shop if it hadn't been for the fact that the large bed was the central focus.

A small row of books sat on his dresser. It seemed he didn't actually keep many in his room considering most of them were in his office and he was in there all the time anyways. There were seven in total—two classic novels, three books on politics, one written in a strange language, and one, oddly enough, on dating advice, but not one was Sylth's journal. I sighed deeply with disappointment as I realized there was no way he'd leave something so precious out in the open and that there'd be no way for me to rummage through his stuff without him noticing. I knew I had no other choice, though, so I just took a deep breath and attempted to open up the top drawer of his dresser. It was incredibly old though and the drawer was stuck, so it took some rough pulling to get it open. The dresser shook every time I managed to get the drawer to budge a millimeter and in the end all I succeeded in doing was knocking the books off the shelf.

I grunted and bent down to gather them up. When I did, I came across a tiny scrawl on an otherwise blank page that read, _I Must Hurry. _Picking up the book and its novel jacket, which had managed to slip off, I'd realized just what Yue had done.

_That was lucky, _I thought. _I can't just walk off with it, though, can I?_

I picked up the dating book and decided that there was only one thing to do. I forced its jacket into my pocket, placed the novel jacket on it, and I thought, _there, let's send him on a wild goose chase and make him think one of his other books is missing. I'm not so sure it'll work, but it's better than just leaving the empty jacket lying around._

I placed all the books back on the shelf then and stepped out of the room. And, of course, who was standing there but the horror of horrors: Vaith. He looked a little embarrassed, probably because he thought he'd just caught me sneaking out of a secret lovers meeting between Yue and I.

_Better that than this, though, _I thought, as I played it cool and casually held the book at my side, hoping he wouldn't know exactly what it was. Thankfully, he was too preoccupied with his embarrassment and just chose to continue on his way after muttering a hello to me. After he was gone, I quickly locked the door and dropped the key on the floor, making it look like Yue had just dropped it on his way out.

There was now less than ten minutes left before my scheduled meeting time with the princess, so I dashed madly to her room. In the end I was only about three minutes late, but I honestly believed from the terrified look on Seraphia's face when she greeted me that she could have very well waited three more centuries for what was about to happen.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Dahlia," she said and then invited me to come in. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite ready yet. It seems I lost track of time." Her dress remained unzipped, her stocking and shoes lay strung on the bed, and she was just now starting put on her make-up.

"Uh, Princess," I murmured. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, you leaving the palace in the middle of the night like this?"

"Of course it's not okay," she said as she twisted open her lipstick tube. As she started to lift it to her mouth, I made the comment that Sylth just might appreciate it more if she went without make-up. She pondered the idea for a moment and then having agreed with me, set the tube back down and then went to the bed to slip on her stockings. Once they were on, she stepped into her shoes and then asked me to zip her up.

As I did I asked, "If we're not supposed to be doing this, then how do you plan on getting past the guards?"

"Oh, we don't have to worry about them. Not considering we're taking the secret exit." She stated.

"Of course, there would be a secret exit," I grunted.

"Sylth made it after he became the Master Wizard so that he could escape whenever he was feeling crushed by his responsibility," Seraphia explained. "It was so that he could leave without anyone knowing he wasn't even in the castle anymore. Which is how, I suspect, he disappeared without anyone noticing."

"Wait," I interjected. "You're telling me that Sylthfarn just went and built a whole new passage in a castle that is who-knows-how-old?"

"Yes, that's just the way he was," she giggled.

"Okay then," I murmured. "So tell me, where's the entrance to this secret passage way?"

"Well, in Mel's room…naturally," Seraphia explained. "It used to be Sylth's room after all."

Seraphia walked over to the door and beckoned me to come. I looked at her sharply and questioned if she just planned to ask Mel to use the passage. The princess replied as though that was only the obvious solution and didn't seem to realize that there was a problem.

"We just can't get Merleawe involved with this," I said. "We can't let her be privy to our secret, at least, not yet anyways."

"I guess you're right," she sighed. "So, what do we do now? I mean, there's guards at every exit and—

I merely pointed to the door to her balcony and turned stone pale. Meanwhile, I stepped outside to see just what we were up against. There was about a twenty yard drop into the garden, not to mention the two guards patrolling the grounds and the rose bushes directly below us. Seraphia came up behind me then and exclaimed, "You see? It's impossible to get out this way!"

Completely disregarding her statement, I asked her if she had any rope. She replied that she most certainly did not. I just laughed out loud and said, "Of course not. Where's the fun in this being easy anyhow?"

Seraphia's face grew pale again as she choked out, "Just what are you thinking about right now?"

"I'm just wondering if I'm as crazy as I seem, is all," I explained and placed a foot on the railing of the balcony and in the preceding moments, eased the other foot up as well. It was too thin to actually stand on, so I had to crouch and hold on tight with my hands. I looked to the guards then. One was turned away from me and was some distance away, while the other was practically right below and had he been staring straight up, I would have been in trouble. The only thing I could think to do in that moment was slip my shoe off and throw straight into one the trees growing in the center of the garden. It was a tennis shoe, so it hit pretty hard. Both guards dashed toward the source of the bedlam and I leapt from the railing without thinking twice. I rolled hard into the grass, but guards were arguing loud enough that it all went unnoticed.

Seraphia looked down at me in horror. I just grinned and held my arms out to her. She shook her head viciously. When I finally had her attention again, I mouthed, "Slythfarn." That was all she needed to take in that deep breath and jump. She landed on me pretty hard, but I was able to catch myself before I fell over. Without a word, she released my neck from her arms and pulled me off to the left and away from the light of her room. Meanwhile, the guards ceased their bickering and took off to the right, probably toward the closet entrance to the palace.

"Wherever we're going, we better make it quick. I think they went to warn the others," I said.

"Right!" Seraphia declared. "It's not far anyways. You see, part of Sylth's passage way runs under ground and there's a cellar door to it around here somewhere."

"But its pitch black I stated," I stated. "How exactly are we supposed to find it?"

"Easily enough," She replied confidently. "You see, it's a magic door that only appears when it senses the ones it was designed to sense. If I just go to the general area it's in and get about five feet from it, it'll—

Suddenly, bright light shot up from the ground and Seraphia finished, "It'll do that."

"That's…amazing," I breathed as we stepped over to it and found it already open and everything.

"You first," Seraphia offered. I opened my mouth to decline, by I noticed some guards had arrived over by her room and so I decided it best to just cooperate. I didn't even bother to use the ladder, I just jumped straight down. Seraphia did the same, as the hole really wasn't all that deep. The door immediately closed behind her.

"That was pretty crazy," She murmured and then plopped down to catch her breath, while managing to utter, "Where in the world did you learn how to jump off of high places like that anyways?"

"Let's just say I've crashed a few parties in my day," I replied, not incredibly eager to dig up the past.

"So, you're telling me you spent your adolescence leaping from rooftop to rooftop and crashing right out through windows at least ten stories high?" She wondered playfully.

"It was nothing like that," I said bitterly. "I just know how to make a getaway, is all."

"I can see _that_," she stated and then with one final deep breath, asked me if I was ready to go. After we started back up, she continued, "I can also see that Sylth must have chosen you for his mission for a reason. Just what was that reason anyways?"

_You didn't think I just plucked you out of some random crowd, did you? _

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Slythfarn stated himself that he did have a reason, but he never really did say what it was. I didn't think to ask either. I guess I was just overwhelmed by the whole situation."

"Don't worry about it. If he had wanted you to know, you'd know." Seraphia stated. "It's just another mystery to add to the pile…It actually kind of annoys me that he kept me in the dark about all this, but at the same time, it's pretty enchanting that he can weave these schemes as well as he can weave spells."

"Yeah, I suppose he is really is enchanting in his own way," I smiled. "And he is most definitely annoying as well…ah; we've seemed to have arrived at another door."

"Yep," Seraphia nodded. "This one sets right under the castle wall." She gripped the handle and told me to watch my step, as this particular wall overlooked a bit of a steep hill that drops down directly into the sea.

"Doesn't seem like the smartest place to the put the thing to me," I muttered.

"Sure it's smart! I mean, the door melds right into the wall as soon as it closes and all, but this way it keeps the nasty other magicians from snooping around and stealing away inside." Seraphia explained.

"Right…" I murmured as we stepped back outside. Once we eased ourselves off the hill and safely stood on the side of the road outside the palace gate, I asked her then if I could take another look at the letter. She pulled it out without hesitation and asked me what was up.

"Just doubling checking where we're headed," I said. "Let's see, 'Meet me at the Water Gate Inn at midnight' and that's all it says. Hmm…so, that's west of here, right?"

"Sounds right to me," Seraphia confirmed. "I'm pretty sure it's only a mile away too."

"Still, it could take a few minutes to get there since we're walking—and it's already 11:30. We'd better hustle." I said.

"Right," She agreed and we took off briskly down the road. We arrived at exactly 12:01.

"Ah, good evening, ladies," the man standing at the front desk greeted us dryly, but as soon as he looked up he chimed, "Why, is that Princess Seraphia? Your Majesty, what brings you to _our_ humble establishment?"

"Well, we're here to see S—

Seraphia had started to answer him, but I quickly interrupted, "We were here to meet _some_one, but I get feeling he didn't mention we were coming," I stated.

"No, I'm afraid not," The man replied. "Ah, but luckily we only have three guests staying here tonight, and only one of them is man. His name is Benjamin Watson…um long white beard and bald. Is he who you're looking for?"

I said yes, considering was pretty obvious those were only an alias and a disguise.

"Excellent!" The man exclaimed. "Okay, he's in 202. Go right on up those stairs behind you."

"Thank you very much, sir," Seraphia beamed.

"No, Your Highness, thank you for gracing me with your noble presence," The man said.

"The pleasure really is all mine," Seraphia insisted, causing the man to chortle nervously. I put in that Benjamin was waiting for us and we headed upstairs after the man and Seraphia said their goodbyes.

I knocked the door, but nobody answered at first. I knocked again and murmured the named Benjamin, but still no reply. I grabbed the door handle then and discovered the room to be unlocked, so I just walked in. No lights were on and nobody was home.

"Huh," I murmured as I flipped on the light switch to ascertain the room really was empty. "You think he told us the wrong room number, Seraphia?"

When she didn't respond, I turned around only to discover no one was behind me. I stepped back into the hall and found it to be as dead as a ghost town.

"Seraphia!" I called out, and took off downstairs. "Seraphia?"

I confronted the man at the desk and he said he hadn't seen her. Just then, the words went through my mind.

"Damn it!" I screamed and smacked the front desk. "That message was intended for me. And because I was too stupid to figure it out…damn!"

"I'm…sorry?" The man choked.

_...I must hurry… _


	5. Fallen Soldier

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

After demanding that hotel clerk check all the rooms in the hotel, he handed me a handful of keys and then proceeded to check a handful of rooms himself. Going through the pile, I searched all the rooms surrounding Sylth's that I possibly could. I couldn't find a single of anyone having been in the empty rooms that night. We managed to sift through all the rooms in about twenty-five minutes, with the inn only being two stories and all. In the end, the four of us—the clerk, the two female guests, and I—all stood in the second floor hallway, contemplating what had happened.

The two women stood beside me, chattering amongst themselves, while the clerk stood still holding the knob of the last door at the hallway after closing it. Breathing heavily from the anxiety the situation had brought upon him, he questioned, "Shall we alert the Black Knights then?"

Thinking back to the little incident in the garden, I started to say, 'I have a feeling they already know.' Before I actually could, though, we suddenly heard Vaith's voice calling, "Hello, is anybody home."

We all headed downstairs then only to find Vaith holding and flipping through Sylthfarn's journal. Apparently I'd left it on the reception desk. He looked at up at us then and questioned, "Miss Young? What are you doing here?" Then he looked at me sternly and demanded, "And what are you doing with this?"

He was taken aback when I snatched the book out of his hands and snapped, "Shouldn't you be focusing on Seraphia right now?"

He frowned and replied, "I still need to know what you're doing with Sylth's diary." He tried to pry it out of my hands, but it seemed my grip was too great for even the great leader of the Black Knights to take it from me. I was just as surprised at the feat as he was, but then I realized Sylth must have somehow charmed the book to keep people from stealing it from me. After a few moments he gave up and said, "Fine, I'll just let Yue deal with you."  
Vaith finally got around to business with his next statement. "So, do any of you actually know what happened to the princess?"

I bit my lip as I tried to fit all the pieces together. I was guessing from his message that he had sensed something dangerous was about to happen and so had skipped out on coming. Still, I couldn't help but wonder after writing me such a message before he wrote that letter to Seraphia, why he had written the letter at all. In all honesty I trusted Sylth too much for him to take Seraphia from me from behind my back and in turn I transformed that trust into knowing exactly what he was doing by bringing us here. I just had to believe that wherever she was, she was going to be okay.

"I'll tell you what happened," a fat old woman with blue hair spat and pointed the tip of her cane toward me. "Her little escort there chose to ignore her and the next thing you know, the princess has disappeared."

All I could down was look down at the ground when Vaith returned his glance to me. I couldn't deny what that woman was saying, after all.

"Miss Young," he addressed me firmly, "You mean to tell me you were wandering around alone with the princess at night and you didn't even have the decency to watch her back?"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to lift my gaze off the ground. "I know this all my fault." All I could think about in that moment was my own kids. When had I become so inattentive? There was no way I was getting them back after what I had done! And so I just so I just started bawling.

I felt Vaith place his hands on my shoulders then and whispered, "It's alright. I promise I'll find her. But I think you're going to have to tell me just why you came here tonight."

Taking my hands away from my face, I swallowed hard and requested, "Can we not do this here?"

He nodded and said, "Sure, let's take this outside." In the thirty seconds it took us to step out of the light of the inn and into the light of the street lamps in front of it, I tried to think up of some excuse to leave Sylthfarn's name out of this. And in the sixty seconds more Vaith gave me to regain my composure outside, I tightly cradled Sylth's diary and realized there was no way he didn't know that Sylthfarn was somehow involved.

"What did they want?" He suddenly questioned.

"They?" I wasn't sure just who he was talking about.

"The people that managed to drag you here with the princess and that diary," he clarified. "What lies did they tell you to get you here?"

It seemed that he had already drawn up his own conclusions. The real question was then to either tell him the truth or take the bait that was being offered to me. I wasn't sure what to do, especially considering I wasn't sure just how it would affect Princess Seraphia. My conscience naturally told me that I we would never get anywhere without the truth. I knew there was only one thing left to do.

"There's something that I should probably tell you," I stated. "I don't think you're going to believe me, though. Not without showing you what he left you."

"He?" Vaith queried, now the one who wasn't sure who exactly we were talking about. I explained to him then that there was something I was holding it to and that I felt it was finally time to hand it over. I told him that he was back at the palace, waiting in my room. He agreed to retrieve it with me. After approaching a subordinate who hid himself in the shadows down the road to block all roads leading out of the city, we returned to the palace.

I insisted that we leave to door closed so as to avoid any eavesdroppers. He seemed nervous to be alone with me and so he stood with his back against the door and choked, "So what did you want to tell me?"

I fished through my jewelry box, which sat on the top of the dresser and handed him the letter. I said, "I think this is our answer to everything."

He opened the envelope then and the letter aloud, "_Dear Mr. Leader of the Black Knights, I know where your missing princess is. We should arrive at the palace by dawn tomorrow. Please be waiting for us..._there's no signature."

I took it from him and discovered that it wasn't even written in Sylthfarn's handwriting. And so, the plot thickened.

"So, uh, where did you say you got this?" Vaith wondered.

Obviously it was not the time, so I shrugged and said, "I don't know…some punk kid."

"And when did you get it?" He asked.

"Uh…a while ago," I replied.

"And you're just now giving it to me?" He hissed. "These people could have helped us and now they're long gone!"

"Hey, well, maybe a psychic wrote it and by dawn, they actually mean tomorrow," I offered my explanation.

"You had better hope it was," Vaith snapped. "I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning," he finished and stepped out of the room. I breathed a sigh of relief, as Vaith had forgotten why we had even gone there in the first place.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning Vaith, Merleawe, Yue, Glenn, the infamous Hahze, Fern, and I all stood at the palace gate awaiting our guests. As the sun got the higher the world and a new day came into the light, Vaith and started to become clearly agitated and antsy. Glenn tried to reassure them that they were probably just a running a little behind schedule.

"By the way, Lalia," Glenn continued. "I heard out you were the one out with Princess Seraphia last night. Exactly what were you two up to?"

Everybody turned to look at me, so I grinned sheepishly and replied, "We both felt like getting some air?"

"Bullshit!" Yue snapped bluntly.

"It is _not_ bullshit," I insisted as I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and stuck my nose up in the air. When I opened them, I noticed a bit of a shocked look at Glenn's face. _Huh, guess I'm not the same little girl he used to study with in junior high, _I thought.

"You know have the right mind to fire you," Yue commented, "and just for sneaking around in my room alone."

"Sneaking?" Vaith spoke. "Aren't you two lovers or something?" Now all eyes were on Yue.

"Whomever you heard that from, they are sadly mistaken," Yue grumbled.

"Well, it was Miss Young, but okay," Vaith shrugged. All eyes were back to me then.

"Hey, you drew your own conclusions. I didn't say anything," I said.

"Yeah, _not _a_ thing_," Vaith snorted. "What the hell am I supposed to think when you run around offering to _clean _stuff for people anyways?"

"You have a dirty mind," I muttered.

"You offering to clean it for me?" Vaith grinned maliciously. "Or you only offering your supplies to Yue?"

"I am not offering anything to anyone," I hissed.

"Would you two just cut it out?" Yue snapped. "It seems our guests are arriving."

In the distance, we saw two men in a single horse carriage coming up the road toward the castle. The guards at the gate promptly opened it and the carriage stopped in front of us only minutes later. The two men jumped off their consecutive sides of the carriage and introduced themselves.

The driver looked to be about middle-aged and was clearly the father of the young man standing next him. "My apologies for arriving so late, sirs and madams," the father bowed slightly. "My name is Carl Sharpe."

"And I'm Luke," the boy beamed. "It's nice to meet you all."

"A pleasure," Yue replied. "Now, if you don't mind, would you please follow us? I've arranged a private meeting with the king."

"Certainly," Carl replied and we all headed off to the throne room, where the king awaited us. When we got there, we found the king pacing about the floor and muttering to himself nervously. It was obviously he hadn't slept the night before, nor did I think he had bothered to change his clothes. Upon noticing us, took Carl's and Luke's hands and began shaking them profusely.

"Oh, thank God you came," he voice sounded weak and tired. "It's a relief, especially considering I thought my precious daughter had run off because of me. I'm in the middle of arranging a marriage, for her, you see. Now please kindly tell me what you know!"

"Actually," Vaith interjected, "I'd like to know exactly how you obtained information about the princess's kidnapping before it even happened."

"Whatever do you mean?" Carl wondered, the shock evident in his voice.

"I mean, I want to know exactly how your son was able to deliver that letter when he did. You said you received it awhile ago, did you not, Miss Young?" Vaith questioned.

"Yeah, but, it wasn't Luke that gave it to me," I said.

"We're not even sure what letter you're talking about," Carl explained. "In fact, I'm baffled by the fact you were even expecting us."

"Oh, is that right?" Vaith scoffed.

"Now calm down, everyone," The king commanded. "Would you mind showing me this letter everyone is talking about?"

Vaith promptly pulled the letter from his jacket pocket. "Your Majesty," he spoke as he handed over the letter.

After taking one glance at it, the king replied, "Why, this is _my _handwriting."

A bead of sweat appeared on Yue's cheek and you choked out, "Your Majesty?"

"Yes, yes!" The king exclaimed. "This is something I wrote when I was courting my wife. You see, one night I set up and secret midnight meeting and sent this to the man that was leader of the Black Knights at the time. I only did it because I didn't want them to panic, but of course I was young stupid back then and I wrote it all wrong. Not to mention, I forgot to sign it." He looked at Vaith then and asked, "Wherever did you find it?"

"Ask Miss Young," Vaith scoffed. "I got it from her."

"And I told you, I got from some punk kid," I grumbled.

"I believe that's something to be addressed later," Yue spoke. "For now, I believe we should be focusing on our guests. Tell us, why did you come here?"

"Well, we _do _have information on the princess," Carl explained. "We're not actually supposed to say where we got it from, but somehow I think it can't be ignored."

"Please go on," Yue requested.

Carl proceeded to explain that he himself had run into 'some punk kid' just the other day. Apparently, the kid gave him a full account of what exactly would happen to the princess. Right down the fact that some lady with long, blonde hair pushing thirty was going to be out with her and that princess would be taken in the few seconds that woman had her back turned to her. The kid had said that it was all he could to stay away from that inn and prevent it from happening.

"He said as he stared up at the sky, 'Some things you cannot change, even when you know they're going to happen," Carl said. "There was a lot of guilt shining in his eyes too."

"So, what did he say about Princess Seraphia?" Vaith wondered.

"Well," Carl continued, "He said that the princess could only be saved by the Fallen Soldier."


	6. Rendezvous with the Master

Disclaimer: I don't Magical x Miracle or any characters

"General Lenalora," Vaith spoke, shaking the Caldia Knight's equally strong hand, "Thank you so much for coming. We could really use all the help we can here." She had shown up only a few hours after our conference with king.

"Of course I came," Lenalora replied. "Princess Seraphia comes only second to my own princess."

"Lenalora," Yue politely acknowledge her, although, he seemed quite uncomfortable about something. She nodded in response, looking like she strongly wanted to say something further, but apparently she had chosen to resist the urge to do so.

"You've spoken to the two men who claimed to have information about who took her, I take it?" Lenalora questioned. "What did they have to say?"

"Yes," Yue took the reins of the conversation, turning toward the window in the meeting room. Staring at the horizon seemed to be far easier for him than making eye contact with the woman, to which I had to say I could agree. "They said the spoke to a, uh, 'punk kid', but refused to give anymore description than this. Apparently the punk kid, a young man that was perhaps in his late teens, had a vision. There was cabin on a mountain top, which was notably and unusually quite warm. There wasn't a speck of snow to be found. In front of the cabin there was a small sign, marked with the letter X."

"Somehow, I'm more interested in the punk kid," Lenalora spoke. "It almost sounds like—

"I don't want to hear it!" Yue spat. "His death was confirmed years ago. You know that as well as anybody."

"I'm sorry, you're right," Lenalora obediently agreed. "So, then, Mel, have you been able to make anything of this vision."

The Master Wizard shook her head. "All I can say is that it's obviously a wizard who took her, considering the sunny condition of that mountain top, but I'm sure you've already figured that out for yourself. And only guess is that this wizard is perhaps someone who has a grudge against me. Someone who thought punish my best friend for me having taken the position the madly desired to obtain."

Lenalora nodded in response, although I could sense that her wild suspicion about just who that punk kid had been hadn't left her mind, and therefore it seemed to her this wizard had a grudge against someone other than Mel.

"And they also said that the only one who could save the princess was the Fallen Solider, no?" Lenalora casually glanced at me and then turned to Vaith, saying, "Sounds to me like you should have the situation under control, Mr. Fallen Soldier."

"I haven't lost my position yet," Vaith grunted.

"But," Glenn put in it, "You have undoubtedly and obviously let yourself 'fall' into despair over these past years as result of the attack on those men that were under your control."

"Yes," Yue asserted. "It makes perfect sense. Vaith, you are clearly the Chosen One."

"If that means having whatever courage it will take to drive my sword into the bastard's heart who took her, be it a stranger or the king himself, then your damn straight I'm the 'Chosen One."

"So, then, it's time to get down to business," Lenalora stated, "And decide just who this mysterious rival of Mel's is."

I wasn't sure just how chasing after whatever ghost the Master Wizard had would get them anywhere, but this time I knew just what do. That letter written by the king had spoken to me loud and clear—I was to let the pieces fall where the may. In any case, I couldn't make any other sense of why Slythfarn had stolen a private memorabilia of the queen's and then given it to me.

_"Trust me, you'll just know." _Slyth's voice echoed in my mind. Sighing deeply, I thought, _I certainly hope so._

"Well," Master Wizard spoke, "I suppose it could have been someone from my class. I don't think it's much of a leap to suspect becoming Master Wizard was pretty much everyone's dream."

"Right," Yue replied. "Vaith and General Lenalora, I suggest you gather all of your men and began questioning all of Mel's classmates—in her year, one year before her, and one year behind."

"Yes, sir," the two Knight Leaders said and unison and left promptly to start on their mission.

"In the meantime, Merleawe, and you as well, Lecto—I want the two of you to sit down with your yearbooks and decide just who either of you might suspect." Yue commanded. After a 'yes, sir' from Lecto and a nod from the Master Wizard, the two set off on their own mission.

"As for you, Glenn," Yue said, "I think you should go wait in the chapel for anybody who is in need of your counseling."

"Right," Glenn replied.

"What about me?" The Hahze spoke. "What can I do?"

After pondering a minute, Yue replied, "Fern, you can go around and let everyone know that Glenn is available for counseling at this time."

Although he didn't seem too thrilled about the task, Fern consented without a fight. And finally, the two people in the room, other than Yue and me, went off on their own ways. I started for the door myself, but Yue stopped me.

"I do believe you and I still have a few things to discuss on this matter." Yue commented. I'm sure I turned white a sheep at that moment. Glenn glanced over his shoulder at me, looking a bit concerned, but then he gave me a small smile. He turned his head back around then and left.

"First of all, Miss Young, I would like to know just how you knew about Sylthfarn's journal and just why you saw fit to steal it from me." Yue said. When I just turned my gaze away from him, he simply continued, "Very well, then. No matter. I am naturally more interested in this letter you gave Vaith." He pulled the envelope from his pocket, noting how interesting it was that it had Vaith's name on it, when in the first place it had belonged to the queen. Or so, had explained the king—his wife had found the situation back in the day so humorous that she desired to keep the letter. He asked, "Did you find it necessary to steal from the queen as well?"

"I didn't steal it," I asserted. "It's like I said. I got it from some punk kid."

"Is this, perhaps, the same punk kid that Mr. Sharpe and his son encountered miles away from here?" Yue inquired.

"Could be," I shrugged. "It's been six years since I've seen him. That's plenty of time for him to travel if you ask me."

"You mean to tell me you've had this for six years?" Yue demanded. "Did you ever think to turn this into the Black Knights back then? Especially considering it had the leader's name on it?"

"Not considering I was told to wait," I said.

"Miss Dahlia, I am seriously started to suspect that you are behind this whole matter." Yue said blunted.

"Me?" I cried. "What on earth would make you suspect me?"

"Well, your bullshit story certainly isn't helping you, nor is the fact that you were the last person to be seen with the princess." Yue hissed, getting right in my face as he spat out his ridiculous accusations. I unfortunately, did not have a counter argument. I just stared into his stone cold eyes, sweating, as he irritably waited for me to make my confession. Of course, I wasn't about to confess to anything I hadn't done, so I forcefully pushed him away from me, out of the corner he had pushed me into. He was clearly startled by the strength such a relatively tiny woman could muster.

"Your theory is nothing but pure conjecture," I stated. "You have absolutely no solid proof that I kidnapped the princess. And I'm not going to stand around here any longer just to listen to your bullshit."

I started towards the door again, but he grabbed my wrist so forcefully that I nearly lost my balance. This time, it seemed, I could not resist. Staring me down with that same bone chilling visage he'd been staring me down with only moments before, he said very quietly, "I know you know something and I'm going to beat it out of you if I have to."

"Go ahead," I seethed. "I have nothing to live for anymore anyways."

His arm shook slightly then, when suddenly he released me from his grip. He started for the door himself then. Just before stepping out of the room, he said, "It seems you need counseling yourself, Miss Young. And as your boss, I'm ordering you to seek it. If you do want to get fired for suspected psychological problems, I suggest you head down there right now. "

"But, but!" I cried.

"Go to the chapel," He ordered. "Or go to your room and pack up your things."

* * *

"So, Lalia, why have you come to see me today?" Glenn asked formally, as we sat together on the altar steps. Realizing I probably didn't have any choice in the matter, I had reluctantly gone down the chapel after all.

"Because Yue is insane," I hissed, hugging my knees and staring down at my feet.

Grinning impishly, Glenn replied, "I can't really argue with that, but, Lalia, I think it's past time we talk about you. Not Yue, or Seraphia, or anyone else for that matter. Let's just talk about you."

"I really don't have that much to say about me," I resisted.

"Come on, Lalia," he pushed. "Just tell me what you're thinking about. Tell me what you're felling."

I buried my head in my knees then, trying to hide my tears, and shook my head. Feeling Glenn's warm hand on my back then, Glenn said, "Lalia, I'm your friend, right? You don't have to think of me as a priest."

"Why not?" I demanded. "You had no problem putting your priesthood before our friendship in the past."

"You're right," he admitted. "I was wrong to act so selfishly. Just because our most important relationship is undoubtedly with God, that doesn't mean we should just ignore our other relationships."

"I hope you realize that my life is a total mess because of you," I hissed. "I wanted to marry you and then after you told you me you were going away, my whole life fell apart. I graduated junior high with such poor grades that I had no hope of high school. And then I met Phil."

"I'm sorry, Lalia, but I have to say that choosing to sleep with Phil was your own decision. I don't believe that it was I who was whispering in your ear and driving you to do it. And I'm sorry that I hurt you to the point that you couldn't even function in school, but unfortunately you also made the choice to be depressed." He claimed. "We are accountable only for our own actions, but I really do wish you had talked to me about it. I couldn't even get you to look at me after that. And to be honest, I think it's rather silly that you still won't look at me."

"So, I really haven't grown up. Is that it?" I demanded.

"Yes, in a lot of ways, I think you haven't." He said bluntly. "But, your life isn't over, Lalia. It's not too late for you to finally grow up."

"How? What am I doing wrong?" I sobbed.

"For starters, you're not respecting yourself. He said. "And if you don't respect yourself, you can never honestly trust yourself. And if you can't trust yourself, you'll never learn to stop clinging to other people and finally be able to take care of yourself."

"I could never respect myself. Not after the things I've done." I whimpered. A few seconds later, he lifted my head and placed his cross around my neck.

"There is a way," he said. "You just have to believe in it."

* * *

Seeing as how I hadn't exactly been the most loyal employee, I was now being forced to due my cleaning under Yue's careful watch. Later that evening, while I was busy sweeping up a weeks worth of various dirt and paper scraps, Vaith and Lenalora came back to report on the situation.

"We've decided to end our integration of Mel's classmates. It seems they are all remarkably successful and sever of those who have not graduated already have good jobs lined up." Vaith explained.

"Very well," Yue replied. "Have you come up with any other leads?" Lenalora bit her lip and Yue promptly told her to just spill it.

"Dead or not, I wouldn't put this kidnapping past any of the Slythfarn's enemies. And he undoubtedly had several." Lenalora said.

"It is not at all etiquette to dig into the dark past of the departed," Yue sighed. "But, I must admit, it was foolish of me not to accept earlier that this has something to do with

Yue pondered something deeply for a moment. Then, finally he said, "Miss Young?"

"Y-yes?" I murmured.

"I'm giving you a week's paid leave," he stated. "I trust you can find and speak with our mystery punk in that time."

"What? Me?" I cried.

"There's no sense in sending the Black Knights after him. If he truly is psychic then there's no way they'd ever catch up to him. However, if he did, in fact, come to you once before, he might just be willing to you again; away from our eyes and ears."

'So, you are allowing me a private meeting with him?" I queried

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm afraid that it is the only way."

* * *

Less than seventy two hours later, I found myself sitting at that same inn pub in which I had met Slythfarn those six years before. I knew that if there was any chance he wanted to see me, it would be right then and there. And, so, a bald old man with a long, white beard walked in not five minutes after.

"Benjamin Watson, I presume?" I said and he responded with a nod. He walked away then and I followed him up to his room. Once the door was closed behind us, he turned himself back in the same punk kid I knew and had to admit I loved. Only, he was no longer a punk kid, but a very handsome young man.

"Miss Dahlia," he bowed to me, proving he was no longer a punk either, and he said, "I would like to thank you for all you're patience and help."

I smiled from the bottom of my heart. This the moment I'd been truly waiting for for the past six years. I was seeing the great Master Wizard face to face once more.


	7. It Was Slythfarn

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

_"I don't understand, Slythfarn…why would you invite us to that hotel if you knew long ago that this was going to happen?" I asked. Slythfarn just closed eyes and murmured about how it had truly been for the best. And then, as tears fell from his eyes, he sobbed about how hard he had tried. How much he wanted to save Seraphia. How much he wanted to face the darkness, even though he always knew he wouldn't be able to face it. Even though he always knew that he would never be strong enough. _

_"And that is why, I wrote you that note," he whispered. _

* * *

"Father," he kneeled before the King's and throne and exclaimed, "I made an incredibly foolish decision. And for that, I apologize from the bottom of my heart."

Before he could say anything further, the King leapt up and nuzzled and swayed him so roughly that his skirt began to flutter about. He did not resist, but nor did he make any effort to return the affection. His arms hung loosely from their sockets for several minutes, until the King finally regained his composure and returned him to his feet. "Father," he continued, "I've made the decision to met and marry the prince you have chosen for me." The King attempted to tell him that it really wasn't necessary, but he remained adamant to fulfill the King's earlier wishes. "Slythfarn is gone. I have nothing and no one to keep waiting for and the time has come for me to take my step toward to succeeding the throne for my country."

I stepped forward then, placed my hand on Slythfarn's shoulder.

"Oh, yes, Father," Slythfarn murmured, "I would like to formally announce now that I have dubbed Miss Dahlia my royal escort."

The King's eyes grew anxious then and he sputtered, "I'm sure she's very nice, Seraphia, but I'm not so sure that's a very good idea."

"I ran off on my own, Father. Miss Dahlia is completely and totally not at fault," Slythfarn insisted. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to return to my quarters now so that I may rest before lunch."

"Of course, Dear," the King replied.

"Miss Dahlia," he summoned me.

I nodded and accompanied Slythfarn to Seraphia's room. After we arrived, I swallowed hard as I shut the door tightly behind me. I was still in the dark about much of what was going on. And so after long, silent carriage ride back to the palace, I finally mustered up the courage to demanded, "So, how in the hell does this remotely help Seraphia?" Jerking sharply around as I said this, I immediately found Slythfarn changing out of his sweaty outfit without shame.

"I thought something was bothering you," he blatantly laughed at my anger, letting the dress fall from his waist to the floor, leaving him in his slip. He slipped into the bathroom then and I followed him in. When I made it the door way, I found he now just in his bra and underwear. I rolled my eyes as he examined himself in the mirror. Then, I suddenly found myself screeching at the top of my lungs as he moved to unclasp the bra. He grinned impishly and immediately turned back into his true from before stripping down any further. I breathed a sigh of relief when he opted not to remove his underwear. Finally, he spoke. "There's something I want to do before I die and this is my only means of doing it."

"You're…dying?" I asked. "How long do you even have?"

"I've been wondering that myself," he sighed. "A fortuneteller once told me that I wasn't long for this world. That was right before I met you."

"That was quite some time ago," I stated. "Don't think it's possible that your fortuneteller was wrong?"

"Considering she told me I would die before I became an adult, I was pretty convinced I wasn't going to when I turned eighteen." He explained. "I was pretty relieved the day I turned eighteen and nothing happened, but I realized quickly becoming an adult doesn't come with a magic number."

"Can't you just brew up a potion?" I wondered. "I mean, you're the Master Wizard! You can overcome anything!"

"I'm not sick," he stated. "I'm going to be murdered."

"What?" I gasped. "When? How?"

"Soon and until that time, Seraphia is to remain as far away from here as possible," He said.

I almost fell over upon my next realization, but fortunately managed to grab the door way. I peered quizzically into his eyes after regaining my senses. I uttered, "You kidnapped her," and then he looked away shamefully.

"And that's why I wrote you that note'…that's all you said," I whispered. "I still didn't understand, but you were so upset, I couldn't push you to talk anymore. But now I know just why you had to hurry. It wasn't a warning to me about what was going to happen—it was you telling me that you had done it."

"Yes," he admitted, but then suddenly I recalled the testimony of the Sharpes. Obviously mind reading wasn't far down on his list of abilities, and so he replied, "I bribed a down on his luck actor to tell them of all that. The testimony itself was useless. The real message was hidden in the very description of that actor's personality and emotions. I knew that if I could get them to use some description befitting me, I knew that Fern and the others would know deep down in their hearts that I'm still alive."

"So, let me get this straight. Something is about to happen to Princess Seraphia and so to rescue her, you plan to take her place so this person murders you instead." I fit all the pieces together. "Does it really work that way, though? I mean, just because you've convinced someone they've killed their target, doesn't mean they won't figure things out for themselves and go back for it."

"It won't be an easy life for her," he admitted. "But, at least she's not going to die."

"Okay, so now that I know what's going on here," I continued, "Do mind explaining to me now what happened back then?"

* * *

I didn't become a shut in mom because it was what I wanted. Hell, if I had had my way, I would have hired a nanny and continued running around like the wild animal I was. For a nearly a year after that incident, though, I had no choice but to hideaway.

_"It was her!"_ _The crowd roared. "She killed the Master Wizard!" _

_Slythfarn lay in my arms. I had just run him over with my carriage. I felt that I was on the verge of being slaughtered myself, but in the mist of the emergency services rolling through not five minutes after, it was hard for the people to focus on me just then and there. I slipped back into the alleyway from which I'd come and ran out to the nearby ghost town. Slythfarn finally walked up showed up sometime late in the evening handed me a newspaper. Somebody had obtained my picture and it was spread out over the front page. The rain began to pour then and we ran up the nearest porch to escape it. _

_"I'm sorry," were the only words Slythfarn could muster in that moment. Someone else took hold of my mouth then and whispered that it was okay. I had known what I was getting into all along. _

_"It won't be released until the morning anyways," I choked. "That'll give me plenty of time to get out of town. So, how'd you manage to get out of the hospital and still pick this off the hot plate while it was still burning?" _

_"It was easy enough," he shrugged. "All I had to do was shape shift into one of the doctors and then later into one of the journalists down at the paper press. Well, if was easy enough after I convinced the hospital staff not to treat my wounds. I don't think it would have looked good if they had suddenly just washed off" _

_"Probably not," I agreed. "So, what of your 'body?" _

_"I was able to muster up a completely different one," he explained. "It took a lot out of me, though. And I knew it would. That's why I needed you to create my wounds with that costume make-up in the first place. Most wizards don't ever fully recover from feats such as that and I'm sure I'm no exception to it." _

_"So, will you ever be able to perform any sort of magic ever again?" I wondered._

"_I'm tired right now, so it'll take some time. But yes, I will still be able to perform some spells and with hope eventually build back up to an average level." He explained. "In any case, I want thank you for all your help," he said. _

_"Sa-sure," I replied. _

_He stayed silent for a moment and then shrugged and murmured, "Well, I guess it's starting to let up. I should try to get going." _

_He started down the steps, but I immediately cried, "Wait!" _

_He turned back around and asked, "Yes?"_

_"I still don't get what you want me to do with your diary or these letters!" I exclaimed._

_"I told you…get the diary and deliver the letters. Just wait until the right time," he stated._

_"The right time for the letters too…when will that even be?" I wondered._

_"Well, I don't want you just randomly handing them off as you meet them all," he explained. "But trust me, you'll know what do!" _

_I started to say more, but he silenced me with a wave of his hand. Then, after giving me a little wink, he took a deep breath and took off into the storm._

* * *

Apparently, Slyth's original intent in writing the letters was to simply get his last words to all of his loved ones. The reason he told me to wait was simple enough too. It was pretty obvious to him that word of his death wouldn't reach his loved ones immediately and he thought only to prolong their hope that he was really alright. Still, he already knew something horrible was going to happen to Seraphia in the future, so he designed his elaborate plan to save here, having me in mind for his lackey all the while. He wasn't really sure when he was going to die and if was meant to be before Seraphia, then he would still have the final words to give. However, he managed to survive, he would be able to change the content of the letters as he felt necessary from afar. Thus the strange messages that appeared in the two that I had already given.

And so that was the story. As I closed Seraphia's door behind me, back out in the hallway, I murmured to myself, "So, Slythfarn, you were the Fallen Soldier all along." It must have been. After all, he had lost quite a bit of his power casting that spell to create a fake corpse of himself. And now he was to become the hero, the knight that would. It all finally made perfect sense. Except for one thing—who was I?

* * *

That afternoon I was welcome to the royal feast at the right hand of Slythfarn. I was barely eating, though, as everyone wanted to know about my great quest in rescuing the Princess. The king sat next to Slythfarn at the end of the table, the remaining chair next to him was empty. Merleawe sat next to this chair, Yue next to her, and Lecto next to him. I sat next to Vaith, who sat next to Glenn, and finally Fern. All the while, I couldn't help but notice Lecto staring at me intently. Finally, I called him out on it.

"Do I have something on my face?" I queried him irritably, looking him straight in the eyes so as he would know I was addressing him.

"I'm sorry," he faked a cough and then took a sip from his cup, "I was just noticing that you cut your hair…among other things."

"Yes," I murmured with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "Seraphia thought it more suitable that I present myself looking more like a royal escort and less like somebody's mommy."

"But of course," he nodded, hardly bothering to remove his glass from his lips. He started to just stare down into his contents then, but every time I looked away from him, I couldn't help noticing him sneaking another peek out of the corner of my eye. But then, as the servers returned to collect the plates and the feeling of conclusion entered the air, Lecto was the first to jump and excuse himself. Yue glanced at him over his shoulder as he muttered that there was something he wished to speak with him about later before dashing out of the dining hall. Yue just placed his head in his palm there and let out a little yawn. Everybody seemed more than a little glazed over that day. When it clear that all conversations had ceased, they all began to excuse themselves in the proceeding minutes. In the end, only three of remained in that enormous hall, an eerie air echo now replacing the earlier sound of booming voices. Fern was still picking at his food and so it would have been rude for Slythfarn and me to take off at that point.

"Fern, is everything alright?" Fern looked up to see the pure blue of Seraphia looking sweetly at him. He blushed slightly and buried his face back in his plate.

"So, it really is true then," he choked.

"I'm sorry?" Slythfarn questioned.

"That he really is dead!" Fern suddenly shouted and flung his knife across the table. Slythfarn didn't even flinch as it bounced around in front of him. He added, as the knife started making that spinning sound and halted its bouncing, "You said so yourself just a few hours ago."

"Fern, we buried him seven years ago," Slythfarn said softly. "What would make you think that—?

"Forget it," Fern hissed and stomped out of the dining hall without another word.

I looked at Slythfarn quizzically then and asked, "Do you think he knows?"

"Not in his head, he doesn't," Slythfarn stated. "In his heart, though, he knows without a doubt."

"And the others?" I wondered.

"Slythfarn is dead," he sighed. "They're all just relieved that I'm home now."

* * *

I sat in my old room later that evening. It was as empty as I had found it. All my stuff was already sitting in my new suite next to Seraphia's, waiting for me to give it a new home. One thing, remained, though, and that was my jewelry box holding the letters from Slythfarn. I stared down at them, still holding Yue's, Glenn's, Fern's, and Merleawe's. Now that he was here, if even for a little while, I couldn't help but wondering I should still hold on to them for awhile.

The door was open and suddenly Lecto poked his head in. I shoved the letters into my pocket then, as he said, a hint of accusation in his tone, "Ah, I thought I'd find you here."

"What do you want?" I grumbled. I couldn't stand the weasel and I wasn't afraid to show it, considering it was no longer necessary for me to kiss the ass of the person that kisses the ass of my old boss. That, however, was a mistake. A moment later I noticed he held a yellow newspaper under his arm. Peeking out from their holding cell, my younger eyes stared back at me.


	8. Useless

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

"Lalia, where have you been? What the hell is even going on?" Philip had been pacing around the kitchen in our home, when I burst through the door in dirty clothes with knotted hair. I took one look at the newspaper Philip had been clutching, undoubtedly detailing the story of how a woman matching my description had killed the beloved Master Wizard, and finally burst into tears.

"It was an accident!" I bellowed as I threw myself on him. "It was just an accident." I couldn't even tell the man that I was to marry what had really happened, which in reality, was of course, nothing. Still, after the looks and comments I received from complete strangers out of the streets, I was so shaken up I thought I might die right then and there.

Philip let the paper float down to the floor and squeezed his arms around my back. He kissed the top of my head and promised that he would make it all go away.

"Lecto," Slythfarn raised his voice suavely, causing Lecto to stop his tracks. Slythfarn demanded just what Lecto thought he was doing dragging me around by my wrist. His cheeks turned bright red.

He gave an exaggerated bow and sputtered, "If you'll forgive me, Your Highness, I feel this is a matter that can only be suitably be dealt with by Yue."

"And just what matter would that be?" Slythfarn questioned. Lecto stood in silence. What could he tell possibly tell the princess that would make her tolerate him harassing her trusted servant? After a few minutes of silence, it became clear that Lecto had no answer, so Slythfarn continued, "Might I see what that is that you have in your hand, Lecto?"

Lecto sighed deeply and held of the old photograph for the princess to see. Slythfarn eyed it, his expression almost empty, as if to say, what a bore to have to break up a quarrel amongst of subordinates.

Lecto cleared his throat. "I neglected to notice the resemblance between Miss Young and the woman who was suspected of killing the Master Wizard, considering the extent to which she had let herself go. However, now that she is looking just as polished and aristocratic as she did back then, even you cannot deny that the person who killed Slythfarn is none other than this woman!" He, seemingly shamelessly, lost his composure then and shoved the newspaper further into Sylthfarn's face. He simply brushed it aside.

"Lecto," Slythfarn spoke, "Surely you don't believe that Yue, who works in magic and not law, is at all suitable for the task of dealing with this issue."

"But, but, but," Lecto just sputtered like the immature child he was below that serious, obdurate surface.

"While Yue undoubtedly has a presence that overpowers even my own, that does not mean that I still don't have authority over him and over this matter," Slythfarn scolded. "Now, if you'd kindly toss that little tidbit of ancient news into the trash, I do believe we can all peacefully get on with our lives. In fact, I'd be more than happy that dispose of it on your behalf," Slythfarn extended his hand and Lecto regrettably handed it over. Then, upon Sylthfarn's next order, he shuffled off with his tail between his legs.

Slythfarn proceeded to rip the paper up into little pieces. He said, "Sorry, Dahlia. I honestly thought that whole business surrounding your involvement in my death had seriously blown over."

"It's alright. Nothing actually happened," I smiled.

"It certainly could have though," Slythfarn sighed remorsefully. "You've been here long enough to know that Yue has a lot more weight around here that what his position actually gives him. If he were to actually find out about you, I don't even think the princess could go up against him in a fight."

"So, how do we keep him from noticing?" I wondered?

"Simple," Slythfarn replied. "I think it's time that you left."

"Time…that I left?" I questioned.

"Sure," he stated. "I mean, you got me back into the palace. Not to mention, without any expenses, you've undoubtedly saved up enough money to convince the judge to give back at least partial custody. That's the whole reason you came here to begin with, isn't it? There's no sense letting yourself get completely wrapped up into something on behalf of a total stranger."

I just stared at him. Was he completely crazy? Everything I'd gone through and he was just telling me to leave? Who did he think he was?

…Still, he was right. What did I think I was even doing there? That wasn't my life.

"Okay," I whispered. "I guess I won't even bother unpacking then. But, before I go, you have to answer me one thing."

"What's that?" He wondered.

"Who am I?" I asked. He cocked his head and so I elaborated, "You said yourself that you didn't just pluck me randomly of some crowd. So, tell me: why me? Who am I and what makes me so special?"

"You've been given the answer to that several times now, Miss Dahlia," Slythfarn replied. "If you haven't realized it by now, then, well maybe you're just as useless as General Lenalora said you were."

Without another word, he gave a slight wave and walked away, leaving me more confused than I had ever been.

"Wait!" I called before he could disappear around any corners. "What about the letters?"

"I would think the answer to that question would be obvious as well," He called back and then continued on his way.

"God!" I muttered under my breath. "And he says Yue can be a real dick."

"Yes, just take it out to the cart," I instructed. "And get on with it already, I don't want to be here all night!" I snapped at the guard who'd already spent the last few hours hauling stuff to my new room, only having to haul it elsewhere all over again. I was still pretty aggravated with Slythfarn, thus my harsh attitude towards the guard.

After filling his arms up with a load of stuff and maneuvered himself out the door and around the corner, I found Fern loitering around in the hallway. I stuck my head of the room to get a good look at him. He looked up then and grunted, "So, you're leaving then? Just like that?"

I was pretty shocked to know that he'd even care, considering I'd only ever been in the same room as him all of three or four different times. He stared at me, clearly expecting some sort of response. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he wanted, though, so I just stared back at him.

Finally, I just told him, "I don't understand. Do you have some sort problem with me?"

"Hell yes I do!" He snapped. "Do you think I really haven't noticed all the messed up things that have been happening ever since you showed up. I mean, first you steal Slyth's diary from Yue's room. Next, the princess disappears on your watch. Oh, and, not to mention you were the one who had possession of that mysterious letter that tipped off to the witnesses' arrival!"

"Okay, okay, just calm down," I sputtered, already having noticed several of servants stopping in their paths to figure out just what this bedlam was outside of the royal escort's room. When he continued to scream, I moved to pick him up by his waist and carried him kicking and screaming into my room. I set him down after slamming the door behind me. He just continued to scream and yell until finally he was all out of breath. And as he stood there panting, I just continued to stare at him.

After refreshing his lungs and regaining his composure, he continued, "In your short time here, you've managed to screw everything up. Yet still, you gain the princess's approval practically overnight." He hesitated to say what he wanted to say for several more minutes, but eventually, he said it. He said, "You knew him, didn't you? You knew Slyth? …and that's why the princess likes you so much. That's why she trusts you."

There was no denying it any longer. I nodded slowly, to which he naturally replied, "So, how did you know him anyways?"

"He confided some things in me, way back when," I choked. "He entrusted me with a very important task, but it seems I just failed him. I'm really not sure where I went wrong, but I know now that Slythfarn wouldn't want me to have anything to do with this anymore."

"Is that why you have to go, then? Because you let him down?" Fern wondered. "What did he ask you do anyways?"

"To deliver some things, to retrieve some things…I just wish I understood him better. His complex riddles were only an understatement to just how complicated this whole thing was." I sighed.

"What did he want you to deliver?" Fern asked. "Was there something for me?"

"Well, I…" I muttered, grabbing at the letters sitting invisibly in the inner pocket of my suit jacket. I still didn't know what to do. All I could remember was Slythfarn saying how obvious things were. How obvious the answer was. And, all I could think as I removed that envelope from my jacket, that that was the most obvious answer of all right then and there. He was asking for it, so just give it to him.

Fern took the letter from my hand, examined closely the manner in which Slythfarn had scribbled his name, and then burst into tears. Fear and relief were welding themselves up into one gigantic knot. Was this the answer he'd been waiting for? Or, was this some courtesy note telling him not cry for Slythfarn? All I knew was I standing in front of a very angry little boy who was now sprouting the water works like a tree sprouts leaves.

"Fern," I placed my hands on his shoulders. He tried to jerk away a first, but in the end found my gentle, mothers touch comforting and suddenly threw himself into my arms like I had thrown myself into Phil's arms on the day I returned home after 'killing' the Master Wizard.

"Are…you going to read it?" I asked a few minutes later. He pulled away then, wiped his tears and nodded. Inside the envelope he found a message that read: Trust in Miss Dahlia.

There was a knock on the door then. I opened it. The guard had returned and so I had piled a few more boxes into his arms. He took off once more.

"Wait…" Fern spoke. "You're still leaving?"

"I think I made myself perfectly clear, kid. I screwed up. Bad." I explained. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that message is outdated." Even though I still really didn't know what I had done, Slythfarn had made himself loud and clear only minutes before. He didn't want me around anymore.

I gathered up the last of the boxes myself and headed outside myself.

My parents were mortified when I told them that I wasn't going to high school. They were mortified to learn that I had met some rich guy and had every intention to move in with him. I knew that they were only going to try to stop me, to try to talk me out of it, so I ran away. Philip was still living with his parents at the time and given that situation, my permanent residence became a cardboard box. Of course, after less than a week that, I knew I had to come up with something better. So, I enrolled in the Training School for Caldia Knights.

My instructor, General Lenalora was just a low ranking officer back then. It was her first year teaching too. Despite her harsh voice and tough demeanor, I think she was more freaked out than any of us. Although we weren't ready, we were called into battle just a month later. The strength and reputation of the Caldia Knights didn't really grow until Lenalora made her way in the ladder. The kingdom needed warriors and that meant all my bunk sisters and me.

It'd been a quiet day. Lenalora had taken the time to continue the training of me and four other hopeless girls while the rest of the ranks kept watch for opposing forces. I'd spent the entire afternoon, under the hot sun, just trying to stretch my bow out right so the arrow would stay straight. Every time I went to shoot, the arrow just fell to my feet. Lenalora made me do it over and over and over again. I wasn't strong enough to wield a sword, nor was she going to let someone with my aiming skills anywhere near a gun.

Our little camp was ambushed at dusk. It was only two of the most pathetic soldiers the other team had to offer and it was a breeze for Lenalora to take them down all on her own. I had been injured badly enough, though, I had to be sent home for emergency medical care. Seeing as I had nowhere else to go, Philip's parents reluctantly took me in after some begging from the two of us. Lenalora came to me one afternoon a few weeks later when I was all but recovered. She asked me if I wanted another chance. I told her I'd sooner go home to my parents. And that's when she said it: You're not even trying, Hart. You don't even want to try. You found yourself some rich, pretty boy and that's all you're ever going to care to amount to. You're completely worthless, Hart.

I think she was expecting me to turn around and show her just who she thought she was talking to. I didn't have the energy to fight her on that. I was completely worthless. I still am.

I got a room for a few nights back at the same hotel I'd stayed at in the weeks after Phil kicked me out. The only thing different going for me then was that I had a few hundred dollars extra and that few hundred dollars made in the difference in find a shack of an apartment for me to call home. In the morning I'd call the lawyer and see if he was ready to go back to court yet. In the meantime, all I could do was lie in bed, waiting for the sun to rise.

All night all that went through my head was want Slythfarn had said to me. I tried to convince myself that he was only trying to protect me from Yue. Protect me from that nightmare happening all over again. What I couldn't explain, though, was why he'd go and call me 'useless.' And then why he left that message lying around for Fern to read. Why would he want Fern to trust in me?

"It's not like it matters anymore anyways," I murmured to myself as I gazed at the bare, wood-paneled wall. I rolled over to look at the clock ticking on the opposite wall, which indicated it was already passed two in the morning. "Tomorrow I will call my lawyer and by the in the week, I'll be holding my little girls again." With that thought, I smiled and relaxed and finally drifted off to sleep.


	9. Captivated

Disclaimer: I don't own Magical x Miracle or any characters

"Come on, Carmen, we're going to be late," I called down the hallway of our one bedroom apartment. I was standing at the kitchen table putting bowls of oatmeal on the table, knowing that Carmen probably wouldn't be eating more than a couple of bites. And I would probably be lucky to eat twice that much. It was already past 8:30 and school and work both started at 9:00. I sat down to dig in and then after a few bites I yelled, "Carmen! Come on!"

She emerged from the ajar bedroom door and stood at the end of the hallway and looked like she was going to cry. She held a ribbon in her right hand and she stretched her arm out, as though I could reach it from all way in the kitchen. I sighed and stood to tie the ribbon in her hair. As I pulled her hair back into a ponytail, she sniffed and said, "I can't do it myself."

"I'm sorry," I kissed the top of her head and then asked her to please eat her oatmeal. She nodded and rubbed her little eyes as she made her way down the hall. I smiled as I looked up to see Lily fast asleep in her crib, even amidst all the commotion. I flicked the light off and decided it probably wouldn't hurt to let her sleep a little while longer.

It had been about six weeks since I had left my job as an escort. Now I was working as a maid at a hotel back in Caldia, right in the neighborhood of my new apartment and Carmen's school, thanks to the personal recommendation of the Princess Seraphia. I hadn't heard from him once in all that time, though. Every day as I went to open the mail box, I held my breath, hoping he'd at least drop me a courtesy line. That morning was no different, as I pulled out the letters and whipped through them, only to find one singe line over and over: Past Due.

The girls came and stayed with me Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. And so Fridays and Saturdays I would have to have to bring them to work with me. Naturally my boss didn't much appreciate it, but I suppose it was just another reason for me to be thankful to Slythfarn. He'd secured for me far more than I thought could be secured, so who was I to expect a letter from the great Master Wizard?

Fern had come to visit me a few times. We didn't really talk about much in those evenings we sat sipping tea together, while the girls were already fast asleep at their father's house. Seraphia hadn't really been herself lately, but Fern figured it was because she wasn't too thrilled about her upcoming wedding. Although it was still a ways off, it seemed that that time was not even going to be enough for her to get over Slythfarn. He was also sent with messages from the children that Glenn and I tutored together. All I ever got from Glenn was religious advice and well wishes. Nobody else seemed to really notice I was gone. Merleawe was pleased that I had regained custody and Lecto was expecting Fern to spy on me or something, but that was about it.

_"So…Lecto told you, huh," I sighed and dug my gaze into my half empty cup, frightful of how Fern was going to react to what had happened. _

_ He nodded, but then replied, "But Sylth told me to trust you, so I am going to trust you." _

_ "You're not even going to ask for any sort of explanation?" I wondered. He simply shook his head. I swore I was more confused by his response than he could have possibly been confused by anything else that was going on. I was beginning to wonder if Seraphia had told him who she really was, but it wasn't like I could ask without mistakenly letting the cat out of the bag. _

_ "Has…the princess asked about me at all?" I wondered. Fern shook his head once more. _

_ He said, "She seems pretty pissed at you for some reason, though." _

_ "Gee, that's great to know," I laughed nervously. _

_"By the way, there's an upcoming engagement ball. You should come…" _Fern's voice echoed in my head as I closed the mailbox back up and slipped the mail into my purse. I took Carmen's hand and we stepped outside and into the street.

_"I…don't think Princess Seraphia would like that very much," I declined. _

_ "Well, probably not, but I would…like it, I mean," Fern started to blush and jerked his gaze down into his own cup. Then, jerking his head right back up, he replied, "Besides, it might give you a chance to talk to Princess Seraphia!" _

_ "What…could she and I possibly have to talk about?" I sneered. He shrugged and took a gulp of his tea. _

Carmen and I walked passed a clothing store, which had an elaborate party dress hanging in the window. I stopped without thinking and imagined myself walking into the ballroom wearing the gown. In my mind, Slythfarn was staring me down from the princess's throne. He stood and ordered my immediate removal.

"Mommy, Mommy…what are you doing, Mommy?" Carmen started pulling on my sleeve. I shook the image from my head and smiled down at her. It was as Slythfarn had said. That wasn't my life. This was. And so I gently pushed Carmen from behind and reminded her that we only had a few more minutes to get to school.

_**HERE**_

"Sorry I'm late, my boss just wouldn't let me go tonight," I sighed as I crawled up the stoop steps of the apartment building later that evening. I had imagined that Phillip had been sitting there for no less than twenty minutes waiting to pick up the girls. I was a bit surprised to see him there, though, as normally his new nanny was the one responsible for retrieving them. And so, still panting, I asked, "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I…needed to talk to you," he grunted, as though talking to me was the last thing in the world he'd ever wanted to do. He had a lot of nerve too, considering he was the guilty party in our admittedly not so mutual decision to split. He stated, "I need to talk to you because I received a letter today that's addressed to the both of us."

"That's only natural," I blinked, completely baffled as to why he'd bring up something as casual as a letter. "We're still technically married after all."

He removed the envelope from his coat pocket. It had a curly gold embroidering and it was stamped with the palace seal. I could tell Phillip had already read it, as the seal had been torn open. He handed it to me then and explained, "It's an invitation to Princess Seraphia's ball."

I took the letter and questioned, "Why are giving this to me?"

"Well, you're going to need to know the details if we're going to be attending, won't you?" he sneered like his intentions should have been obvious.

And so I snapped, "Who's we? I would have thought you would want to take Tina!"

"Yes, of course I would _prefer _to take her, but it would be more proper for the time being that we still attend such high society events together," he said. "I can't announce Tina's and my engagement until after the divorce is finalized and I am not so classless that I would show up an event such as a royal ball with someone who is not my wife."

"Nor could you show up alone…oh, the embarrassment," I laughed at his ridiculously insatiable appetite to maintain his dignity.

"Certainly not," he hissed and then he stood up and ordered, as he pointed at me,"So, you will inform your boss that you will be busy next Saturday evening."

"Oh, I will, will I?" I started to laugh even harder. Phillip just stood there staring down at me from three steps up. I scorned. The way he was treating me just then was the same way he'd treated me our entire relationship, even before we were married. He would order me around and I would follow like a playful little puppy dog. And I was just as happy as a puppy dog too. I didn't know what was wrong with me, even in that moment, as his gaze sent chills down my spine.

"And just what's in this for me?" I questioned, in a hopeless attempt to retain my dignity as well. This man had me under a cursed spell that would forever keep me captivated by his perfect amber eyes.

"I suppose I'd be willing to let you have the girls more often," he used the dirtiest trick in the book that he could possible think of. I couldn't help but wonder if he truly cared about are children, or if they were just two pups from one of the many litters he would father over the course of his lifetime.

"That's sick," I commented, "forcing me into favors so that I can be near my own babies."

"Even so…you can't possible refuse, can you?" he smirked. He pulled some money out of his wallet and told me to use it to buy a new dress. Of course, the nanny would be taking the girls in my place, seeing as how I would be busy on that particular night I had custody. He pulled Lily from my arms then and took Carmen's hand. "Alright, my darlings, how would you like it if Daddy took you for ice cream?" The girls cheered and waved goodbye to me.

Phillip was evil and he was practically the devil. And the flames that torched me skin in the hell that was my life surprisingly felt toasty warm.

_**HERE **_

I started hanging out with Beth, my friend I had meet me at that bar the night I went to spy on Vaith, just before I graduated junior high. Glenn had just told me that he'd decided to become a priest and had already been accepted into a high school. I didn't exactly have my sights set on high school before that, but I at least had some imagined scenario of living happily ever after. And I did just that, for a short while anyways.

Beth was one of the "cool kids", I suppose. She drank and she smoked too. I guess one Friday afternoon I got asked to go and hang out at the pub with her. Normally I would study with Glenn on Friday nights, but since that became an unfulfilled dream, I figured it was time to set my sights on something else. So I blew Glenn off and the rest was history.

Philip was by every definition Prince Charming. He had a beautiful black mane that stopped just after his shoulders. His skin was dark and his eyes were spellbindingly captivating. The shirts he wore were too tight for the rock hard abs and arms they were attempting to cover. He always wore black pants and never shorts, giving him an even classier look. Most of all, he was charming. And he was a con artist. He could make any girl fall in love with him and despite the fact that I was already desperately in love with another man, I was no exception.

He offered to buy Beth and I some drinks. He was seventeen and we were fourteen. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure he had his eyes on Beth originally. She was gothic beauty with piercings and tattoos and she wasn't afraid to show them off. I, on the other hand, wore glasses a long sleeved plaid dress. Beth proved perhaps she was the exception to the rule. She remained stoic and hard to get the entire night. But by the time I had finished my drink—my first ever—I was feeling loopy and flirty.

Philip said I was kind of cute, although he was laughing at me all the while. I eventually told him that I had to be home by ten. Beth said much the same thing, as she was ready to bounce. I left my heart on the bar and said goodbye to Philip.

_**HERE**_

"Stop it! Just put that down!" Beth snapped as I admired a green dress with gold trim at the boutique in my neighborhood. She and I had been spending a lot more time together since I'd moved back to Caldia. I asked her to help me pick out a dress, but apparently she had something else in mind when she agreed to do so.

"You can say whatever you want to me, Beth, but it's not going to change my mind," I insisted as I held the dress in front of me and analyzed it in the mirror. Thanks to the reflection, I was able to see Beth roll her eyes, despite the fact that she was standing behind me.

"Please don't tell me you're entertaining some silly fantasy about you and Phil getting back together," she grunted.

"Of course not," I lied, although, the thought had honestly crept across my mind more than once. "All I want is what I have wanted since the very beginning. And that's my kids."

"Yeah, sure," she laughed. "Then again, this goes deeper than Phil or the girls, doesn't it?"

She couldn't possibly mean the chance to speak with Slythfarn again. In fact, if there was one thing I knew, I intended to avoid him at all costs.

"Please, Phil was totally the rebound guy. Your relationship with him is the only thing that's allowed you to lie to yourself about your true feelings. And if you lose your little security blanket, then you have to go through your obsessive little depression all over again." She said. "Sure, you had the opportunity to get back what you truly wanted all your life, but now that _he's _ignoring you, well, all that's truly left is Philip after all."

Dissatisfied with how the dress matched the color of my skin, I snapped the hanger back on the shelf. "This has absolutely nothing to do with _him_," I insisted firmly. "That ship sailed a long time ago. I know that."

"Well, whatever you do, don't fall in love with Phil again," she gagged on her own words. I just sighed, not sure if I'd even ever really fallen out of love with him or if I'd ever really been in love with him in the first place.

"What do you think about the one hanging in the window?" I side-stepped her comment and made my way over to the gown I had been admiring just the other day. Beth examined the lavender lace and light blue bows that adorned the gown and scoffed once more.

"Well…I would never wear it," she hissed. I just sighed.

"It costs more than what Phil actually gave me," I stated and then moved on to examine a violet dress that hung a rack an arm's length away from me.

In the end I settled on a simple, dark blue gown that had a black bow tied around the waist. It was one of the least expensive dresses in the boutique. I even had a little money left over after buying it, so I bought a new pair of shoes to go with it. By the time we left the shop, I was actually feeling pretty excited about going to a ball with Philip. It was like I had just finished my first drink all over again.


End file.
